Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) versus SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Head-To-Head Survey

Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) and SM Energy (NYSE:SM) are both mid-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Dividends

Magnolia Oil & Gas pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. SM Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Magnolia Oil & Gas pays out 16.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SM Energy pays out 6.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Magnolia Oil & Gas has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and SM Energy has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Magnolia Oil & Gas and SM Energy’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Magnolia Oil & Gas	$1.42 billion	3.37	$893.84 million	$2.72	8.40
SM Energy	$2.61 billion	1.84	$1.11 billion	$8.83	4.58

SM Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Magnolia Oil & Gas. SM Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Magnolia Oil & Gas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Magnolia Oil & Gas has a beta of 2.06, indicating that its stock price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SM Energy has a beta of 4.33, indicating that its stock price is 333% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.7% of Magnolia Oil & Gas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.3% of SM Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Magnolia Oil & Gas shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of SM Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Magnolia Oil & Gas and SM Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Magnolia Oil & Gas	0	2	4	0	2.67
SM Energy	1	5	5	0	2.36

Magnolia Oil & Gas currently has a consensus price target of $27.40, indicating a potential upside of 19.91%. SM Energy has a consensus price target of $42.10, indicating a potential upside of 4.03%. Given Magnolia Oil & Gas’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Magnolia Oil & Gas is more favorable than SM Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Magnolia Oil & Gas and SM Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Magnolia Oil & Gas	41.62%	26.02%	17.93%
SM Energy	41.36%	22.48%	12.07%

Summary

Magnolia Oil & Gas beats SM Energy on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Magnolia Oil & Gas

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation engages in the acquisition, development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves in the United States. Its properties are located primarily in Karnes County and the Giddings area in South Texas principally comprising the Eagle Ford Shale and the Austin Chalk formation. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It also has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St. Mary Land & Exploration Company and changed its name to SM Energy Company in May 2010. SM Energy Company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.